Category: Real Estate and Mortgages

Before pulling the trigger on buying your house, you need to consider the case for buying now versus waiting for conditions to improve. In today's housing market, which is characterized by a "locked-in" effect where many existing homeowners with low mortgage rates are reluctant to sell, there is a strong…

With tough economic times and house prices plunging across the country, rental (apartment) living has become the norm for a number of people. Whether it is by choice or circumstance, apartment living has its own challenges and before you make the move here are some things to consider and tips…

[Updated Feb 19 2008] See this recent article on President Obama's $75 billion dollar plan to stem foreclosures and stabalize the housing market. It also covers who qualifies and when the programs start. -------- Finally some good news leading into the holidays for millions of struggling homeowners, through a plan…

In an attempt to help struggling American homeowners, the U.S. Department of Treasury, HUD, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and the Hope Now Alliance recently outlined a plan to avoid "preventable" foreclosures. Households that have missed three or more mortgage payments may receive assistance through refinanced…

I wrote a while back on how the US was leading home price declines earlier this year. Looks like the world has caught up to this unfortunate trend and pushed the relative US declines to the middle of the pack. As the most recent IMF economic report shows, the US…

It seems that wherever there is an easy buck to be made (or stolen in this case) scam artists are on the prowl catching unsuspecting victims in their deceitful webs of misinformation. Earlier this year the biggest scams being perpetuated were around the IRS stimulus checks. Now with the housing…

Much of the past and current financial market crisis is blamed on two main factors – poor risk management by company executives and the ultra-depressed housing market. Company management is paying the penalty with most failed CEO's fired and years of lawsuits and regulatory probes ahead for implicated senior executives.…

Bloomberg reports that US banking committee senators have asked regulatory bodies (FHFA) now controlling mortgage giants Freddie and Fannie to freeze foreclosures for 90 days in order to "provide immediate relief to many homeowners'' and let the companies "turn these non-performing loans into performing assets to minimize losses". Lawmakers and…

The treasury along with the Federal Reserve and Federal Housing regulator (FHFA) announced a take over via conservatorship of the government sponsored entities of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Current actions will definitely provide a cushion, but long term structural reform is needed to ensure this does not happen again…

Reverse mortgages are becoming an increasingly popular financing offering with our aging baby boomer population, looking for ways to unlock the value from their homes. Simply defined, reverse mortgages are a special type of home loan that lets a homeowner convert a portion of the equity in his or her…

"I just sold my house and lost $100,000...""I can't sell my house after 12 months, even after lowering the price by 30% ""I am going to go broke if I can't sell my house....""Why can't the government fix this housing crisis...""I thought a house was a safe asset that went…

Not having to pay rent or a mortgage is one of the key steps to financial freedom. It frees up what is most likely your biggest expense and allows you to channel that money to other wealth building pursuits.  I currently pay about $3500 a month in rent (including taxes), and have…

We all want to get out from under our massive mortgage debt. So what is the best way to pay off the mortgage quicker – and not significantly impact your ability to retire? The answer is a variation on the good old “Pay every two weeks instead of once a…